(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cutting methods and equipment. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for delivering food product to a cutting device having a horizontal cutting plane, by which the product is properly oriented and stabilized to produce a sliced product of uniform thickness.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Various types of equipment are known for slicing, shredding and granulating food products such as vegetables, fruits and meat products. A particular example is slicing equipment adapted for cutting root vegetables, such as potatoes, into thin slices suitable for making potato chips (also known as potato crisps). A widely used machine for this purpose is commercially available from the assignee of the present invention under the name Urschel Model CC. The Model CC is a centrifugal-type slicer capable of producing uniform slices, strip cuts, shreds and granulations of a wide variety of food products at high production capabilities. The centrifugal operation of the Model CC does not provide for orienting an elongate product so that its longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the cutting blades. Therefore, when used to produce potato slices for potato chips, the Model CC requires the use of substantially round potatoes in order to produce the desired circular chip shape with a minimum amount of scrap.
Because potatoes tend to have an elongated shape, round potatoes of the type that can be processed with the Model CC typically cost more, generally as a result of the special potato varietals and/or farming techniques required to produce a rounder shape. In view of this additional cost, it would be desirable if potato chips with the desired circular shape could also be produced from potato varietals with elongate shapes. It is also of ongoing interest in the industry to achieve greater chip consistency in terms of shape and thickness, while minimizing scrap.
The TranSlicer 2000® is a slicing apparatus that has found wide use for slicing elongate food products. Commercially available from the assignee of the present invention and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,702 to Bucks, the TranSlicer 2000® employs a cutting wheel disposed in a vertical plane and rotated on a horizontal axis, with radial cutting blades mounted between a hub and an annular-shaped rim. A notable example of a cutting wheel suitable for use with the TranSlicer 2000® is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,992,284 and 6,148,709 to Bucks. A conveyor or other suitable device is required to deliver product horizontally to the cutting wheel. The cutting operation performed by the TranSlicer 2000® is generally limited to the hemisphere of the cutting wheel in which the blades are traveling downward, because attempting to cut a product as the blade travels upward tends to lift the product off the conveyor.
The TranSlicer 2000® is well suited for slicing, shredding and granulating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and meat products, including the slicing of elongate potatoes for potato chip production. However, a difficulty arises when attempting to produce crinkled slices (slices having a corrugated shape when viewed edgewise) or “V-slices” (similar to crinkled but with relative sharp peaks and valleys when viewed edgewise), both of which are common shapes for potato chips. As noted above, the TranSlicer 2000® is generally limited to a cutting operation performed in the hemisphere of the cutting wheel in which the blades are traveling downward. Even when being sliced in a downward direction, an elongate product can rotate slightly about its longitudinal axis for lack of a means for positively holding the product while engaged with the blade. While this aspect is of no significance when slicing most elongate products to produce flat slices, any rotation of an elongate potato that occurs when attempting to produce crinkled or V-slice chips results in the grooved pattens on opposite surfaces of a chip being misaligned, which can be aesthetically undesirable, cause uneven cooking, and produce shredded product if the chips are sliced sufficiently thin, e.g., on the order of about two mm or less.
In view of the above, it would be desirable if an improved method and apparatus were available that enabled potatoes and other elongate products to be properly oriented and stabilized during a slicing operation. Such a method and apparatus would preferably be suitable for producing crinkled and V-slice potato chips while preferably achieving high production capabilities and minimizing scrap.